So I got an Oculus Rift as a (super generous) Christmas gift. I was really skeptical about VR, having not tried it before and thinking it a gimmick.

I gotta say, having it now, VR is pretty freaking awesome. And it's tough to play regular games again.

Even basic gameplay, like shooters and hack and slash games, are *way* more fun when you're actually doing the motions. I really wasn't a fan of motion controls in the past but, they've come a long way. They're pretty responsive and useful now.

It's not without its problems. It's buggy as all hell, the setup is ridiculous and obtuse, and the fidelity on the headset is kinda low. Things look aliased pretty bad, and the headset can get blurry or fogged up really easily. Hard to make out fine details, etc.

But other than that, I highly recommend VR. And I can definitely see it being the future, even if it's just sort of an expensive toy right now. It's surprisingly immersive and has a lot of potential.

What do you guys think? Have you tried/own it? Do you think it's going anywhere or is it just a dumb fad?

i'm generally not an early adopter of tech and VR for me is too early in its lifespan to purchase. everything about VR right now feels (justifiably) prototypical. all the flaws you mentioned makes it too soon of a purchase. i also admit to some conservatism in how i game. i like playing games with a controller/m+k. truthfully, being more interactive with my games isn't all that appealing. right now, anyway. that would definitely change with better tech. also the lineup of VR games isn't that great to my knowledge. i'm looking for the Bloodborne or the Breath of the Wild/Super Mario Odyssey of VR that sells the headset. all that said i'd love to try it and be proven wrong. just not willing to take the risk on it with my own cash.

re fads: definitely not. i don't think the *future* of games is VR, but as its own thing i absolutely believe it's here to stay. it provides a unique experience for just about every genre.

I've tried a lot of the arcade type games, space pirate simulator and robo recall. Recall is fucking legit, great game. Space pirate is eh. Then I got Arizona Sunshine, zombie shooter. Sort of like a VR single player left 4 dead. Pretty good but nothing special. Then I tried Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, a party game where the VR player defuses a bomb while everyone else tries to explain how. It's pretty fun too, although the VR didn't feel essential. There's also a few different fantasy combat games, I tried Vanishing Realms. It's pretty early access but sword fighting and bow shooting is awesome in VR. Actually parrying sword blades and lining up shots is great. Then there's a bunch of free games, but they're mostly glorified tech demos. Although the tutorials that come with the Oculus are pretty sweet.

As for a "real game," the closest I've heard so far is Lone Echo, a game where you're a robot assisting a female astronaut around the rings of Saturn. It's interesting but I'm not that far into it.

So, I guess, to summarize real fast, all your concerns sound legit, and I don't think they're wrong. But I *do* think that if you tried VR, you might like it a lot.